Eyal Waldman
Eyal Waldman | |
|---|---|
 Waldman in 2015 | |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Co-founding Mellanox Technologies, activism for the two-state solution |
| Awards | Israel Prize (2024) |
Eyal Waldman is an Israeli businessman, philanthropist, and peace activist. In 1999, he co-founded chip maker Mellanox Technologies, which was sold to Nvidia for US$6.9 billion in 2019. Waldman received the Israel Prize, Israel's highest civilian honor, in 2024.
Biography
[edit]Waldman served as an infantry officer in the Golani Brigade in the Israel Defense Forces.[1] After the army, he studied for a degree in chemical engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology before moving to computer science. After receiving a master's degree in electrical engineering, Waldman began working for Intel in 1989. After four years at Intel, Waldman was the vice president of engineering at startup Galileo from 1993 to 1999.[2]
In 1999, Waldman co-founded Israeli chip maker Mellanox Technologies with three friends from Intel in Yokne’am, later selling the company for US$6.8 billion to Nvidia in 2019.[3][1] As part of the sale, Waldman received approximately US$250 million from his 3.6% stake in the company. According to CTech, Waldman is regarded as one of Israel's leading high tech entrepreneurs.[4]
After leaving Nvidia in April 2020, Waldman founded Waldo Holdings.[5]
Activism and philanthropy
[edit]Waldman supports the two state solution. After the 7 October attacks, he stated that, " I hope in two to four years we'll be able to do peace and build two states for the two people and be able to live together next to each other."[1]
Waldman is among a group of Israeli businessmen who are part of Breaking the Impasse, a forum of Israelis and Palestinians in favor of advancing a diplomatic solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[6]
At Mellanox, Waldman hired 200 engineers, including 20 in the Gaza Strip and 80 in the West Bank town of Rawabi, in a belief that Israeli and Palestinians working together would lead to peace.[7][2]
Waldman opened a design center in Gaza and donated US$360,000 to an oncology ward at a hospital in Gaza in 2020. He also created jobs for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[1][7]
Waldman and fellow Israeli entrepreneur Izhar Shay launched project Next October in December 2023, pledging to help create 1,200 next startups in honor of the victims of the October 7 attacks, with each startup bearing the name of someone who was killed. Around 150 companies, including Meta, OurCrowd, and Pitango, were confirmed as partners.[8]
Personal
[edit]Waldman's youngest daughter Danielle Waldman and her boyfriend Noam Shai were two of the 364 people killed during the Re'im music festival massacre during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. When Waldman received word that Danielle was missing, he flew back to Israel from Indonesia and tracked her location via her Apple Watch. Her body was found on 9 October.[1]
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, sent a letter to employees in Israel offering support and condolences to Waldman on the killing of his daughter.[9]
In 2024, Waldman was announced as a recipient of the Israel Prize, the country's highest civilian honor. Education Minister Yoav Kisch had previously requested that the prize committee not award the honor to Waldman due to his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the 2023 Israeli judicial reform.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Guerin, Orla (2023-12-12). "Eyal Waldman: Israeli tech billionaire hopes for peace despite daughter's killing". BBC. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ a b Gabison, Yoram (2019-03-12). "Mellanox Boss Waldman: Israel's $6.9 Billion Man". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2024-03-29. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Solomon, Shoshanna (2017-12-26). "When a startup gets big, the environment gets rougher, says Mellanox CEO". Times of Israel. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Ravet, Hagar (2020-11-04). "Waldman to leave Mellanox two decades after founding unicorn". CTech. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Daughter murdered by Hamas, Israeli tech-billionaire maintains hope for two-state solution". Jerusalem Post. 2023-12-15. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Coren, Ora (29 January 2014). "Israeli Businesspeople Launch Campaign for Peace With Palestinians". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- ^ a b Neuhauer, Ian (2023-11-25). "'Bulletproof': The brief, beautiful life of Danielle Waldman". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Krieger, Candice (2023-12-05). "Meet the entrepreneur pledging to build a start-up for every victim of 7 October". Jewish News. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ Shulman, Sophie (2023-10-13). "Nvidia's Jensen Huang supports Israel amid "living nightmare", mourns death of daughter of Mellanox founder Eyal Waldman". CTech. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Israel Prize winners announced, among them Netanyahu critic Eyal Waldman". Jerusalem Post. 2024-03-28. Retrieved 29 March 2024.